


In the Light of Love

by teddiehtet



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bittersweet Ending, Fluff and Angst, Hotarubi no Mori e AU, M/M, Tamasou, character ‘death’ like in the movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 02:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17572805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teddiehtet/pseuds/teddiehtet
Summary: A strong friendship is forged when a young man, who was once from the city, moved to the countryside and meets a lonely forest spirit.~ A TamaSou "Hotarubi no Mori e" AU





	In the Light of Love

The first time Tamaki encountered the forest spirit was when him and his younger sister moved to the countryside to stay with their aunt and uncle. Tamaki had just turned 17 and, being originally from the city, was a boy eager to explore the completely different environment.

_“Tamaki, be careful when you are going through the forest,” his aunt warned. “There is a spirit who wanders there. Stories say that there have been people who got lost and was approached by the spirit. Fearing for their lives, they immediately ran before the spirit could curse them.”_

_“I’ll be okay,” Tamaki mumbled. “I can defend myself.”_

_“You cannot fight against a forest spirit, Tamaki,” his aunt gently warned. She reached up to pat Tamaki’s head a couple of times. “I’m just worried something will happen to you. This is also the first time you have come here, so you can easily lose your way. I’m not going to baby you; you have grown into a splendid young man. I trust you, okay?”_

_“...Thank you for worrying, oba-san,” Tamaki thanked. He patted the side of his pants to make sure that his phone was securely tucked into his pocket. “I’ll be back in around an hour.”_

Of course, Tamaki having a completely disastrous sense of direction, ultimately got lost. He constantly checked the map app on his phone, but, being in a forest, his phone didn’t have any data or service. The young man groaned, defeated.

 _“And after I told oba-san I’d be okay, too… Well, might as well explore some more then,”_ Tamaki thought as he put his phone away. _“Maybe someone else will be here too.”_

After traveling a bit further into the forest, Tamaki came across a small clearing. Beams of sunlight streamed down from the canopy, illuminating the area with a dreamlike aura. A small butterfly flew up from behind, lightly grazed Tamaki’s cheek and flew into the clearing. Tamaki’s eyes followed the butterfly, until it landed on someone’s shoulder. Tamaki shifted his gaze and laid his eyes on a person sitting on a fallen log.

The stranger glanced at the butterfly that landed on his shoulder, then turned his gaze to Tamaki. With a polite smile, he greeted, “Hello. What brings you here?”

Tamaki’s jaw almost dropped. Under the streams of sunlight, the stranger looked ethereal. The sunlight highlighted the stranger’s short, white hair as well as his bright purple eyes. A light purple yukata was wrapped neatly around his body, with no wrinkles in sight.

“Uh,” Tamaki uttered gracelessly. “I’m just… lost.”

The stranger cocked his head. “Is that so?” He hopped off the log and approached Tamaki. “I know the way out of the forest. Just follow me.”

“Thank you,” Tamaki thanked when the stranger walked past him.

As the stranger led Tamaki through the forest, he tried to make some light conversation.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?”

“Tamaki. And you?”

“I’m Sougo,” the stranger answered. “So what brings you to this forest, Tamaki-kun?”

“I just moved into the nearby town,” Tamaki answered. “I’m starting my second year of high school in a few days. I just came to the forest because I wanted to get to know the area a bit more.”

“It’s easy to get lost in this forest, especially if you have never walked through here at least once before,” Sougo explained. “How do you like the countryside so far?”

“I haven’t been here long, so I haven’t really seen much,” Tamaki confessed. “But it’s definitely much more quiet than the city. There’s also not really that much to do, honestly.”

“Ah, of course, compared to the city, this little town doesn’t have much,” Sougo chuckled. “Since this is your first time here, I’m assuming you haven’t heard of the bi-annual festival that this area’s famous for?”

“A bi-annual festival?” Tamaki echoed.

Sougo nodded. “Twice a year, this town, as well as some other nearby ones surrounding it, come together to set up stalls and organize entertainment. There’s a lot of food, games, comedy shows, and so on. There’s one festival coming up in the summer, and another one in the winter.”

“Hmm,” Tamaki hummed. “Those sound fun.”

“They really are. If you get the chance during your summer break, you should go.”

“Do you usually go?”

“Well, I do go to most of the festivals, but only stay for a while,” Sougo answered. “I’m not very good with crowds, you see.”

The two of them then fell into a comfortable silence. As they walked, Tamaki looked around to try and see if he could familiarize himself with the area, which was difficult since there were just mostly foliage and Tamaki, having a poor sense of direction, can’t tell what direction he was going.

“Woah!”

All of a sudden, his foot got caught on a tree root, causing him to lose his balance and fall face first on the ground. Hearing Tamaki’s cry, Sougo quickly turned and crouched down, right as Tamaki lifted his head.

“Did you hurt yourself?” Sougo started to stretch out his arm to offer a hand, but paused midway. Instead of offering to help Tamaki up, he let Tamaki push himself off the ground first, and then he stood back up.

“I’m okay,” Tamaki reassured. “Just stings a bit.”

“We’re almost out of the forest, hang in there,” Sougo reassured.

Once the two of them were completely out of the forest, Tamaki thanked Sougo for guiding him out of the maze-like woods.

“It’s no problem at all,” Sougo said. “I have seen many who were lost like you. I’m glad to have been able to help you, at least.”

“You literally saved my aunt from having to call search and rescue,” Tamaki blurted. “I know I’m a total stranger, but you really helped me out today, so I wanted to make it up to you. If you have time, you should come over to my aunt and uncle’s house for free dinner.”

“Thank you for the offer, Tamaki-kun, but...I already have prior plans,” Sougo apologized.

“That’s okay, I’ll make it up to you tomorrow then,” Tamaki offered. “Where will you be at around noon?”

“I…” Sougo hesitated slightly. However, he gave in and answered, “I’ll be here.”

“In the forest?”

“At this entrance,” Sougo clarified. “I usually spend a lot of time in this forest because it’s so calming, but I can meet you at the entrance, since you may get lost again.”

Tamaki couldn’t even refute that comment; he knew he’d lose his way if he tried to navigate through the woods again.

“Okay, I’ll meet you here tomorrow at around noon. Come with an empty stomach!” Tamaki said as he started walking back to his aunt’s house.

* * *

True to his word, the next day, Sougo was waiting for Tamaki by the entrance of the forest. Holding two neatly wrapped bento boxes, Tamaki approached Sougo.

“I told my aunt about how you helped me out yesterday, and without me asking, she packed one bento box for you too,” Tamaki explained as he held one out to Sougo.

At first, Sougo stared at Tamaki for a few seconds, then at the bento box. Slowly, with his palms up, he brought his hands up to accept the lunch. Tamaki gently placed the box on Sougo’s palms.

“Um, thank you very much. You didn’t really have to do this though.”

Tamaki shook his head. “I want to. I’m not very good at talking, but I wanted to show you my gratitude. I also get this feeling that you’re a really easy person to talk to.”

“Oh, that’s kind of you to say,” Sougo said, surprised.

“Is that the first time someone had said you’re easy to talk to?”

“Hmm,” Sougo hummed. “Yes, I think. I honestly haven’t had a conversation in so long…”

“You don’t have friends?” Tamaki bluntly asked.

“Well,” Sougo paused. “People don’t really like to approach me.”

“Then I’ll be your conversation partner,” Tamaki enthusiastically offered. “It really sucks, not having anyone to talk to. You can be my first friend here and I’ll be yours.”

A slightly overwhelmed Sougo blinked a couple of times. Then, a fond smile spread across his lips as he chuckled. “I’d like that, Tamaki-kun. Once again, it’s nice to meet you, my first friend. I’ll be in your care from now on.”

“Me too,” Tamaki echoed. “So I was thinking that since we have our lunches, we can just sit here or something and eat together.”

“Would you like to go back to where we met yesterday?” Sougo offered. “That clearing is well lit and quite wide.”

“Sure,” Tamaki agreed. “Lead the way, Sougo-san.”

* * *

From then on, Sougo and Tamaki would meet up almost every day at the entrance of the forest   Even school didn’t stop him from going to the forest afterwards. By now, Tamaki had become more familiar with the woods since Sougo had been taking him around and showing him what to use as landmarks, and how he can recognize what part of the forest he’s at. At one point, Tamaki even asked Sougo if he could try leading him into the forest and back out. After successfully emerging from the forest without getting lost, Tamaki was beaming. Sougo clapped his hands, clearly very proud of his friend.

Tamaki, being a more physically affectionate person once he gets to know people, leaned in to give Sougo a huge hug. In a split second, Sougo stopped clapping and swiftly stepped back, avoiding Tamaki’s arms.

Tamaki couldn’t help the hurt flinch that showed in his eyes. When he took a look at Sougo though, he noticed how the older man had his lips pressed in a tight line, with his eyes downcast; an extremely apologetic gloom shrouding his face.

“I’m sorry,” Sougo apologized. He nervously shifted his feet and folded his arms defensively. “I’m not very comfortable with hugs yet.”

Tamaki nodded his head in understanding. “It’s no big deal, Sou-chan. Sorry, I should’ve asked first if you were okay with hugs and stuff like that.”

From then on, Tamaki was careful not to touch Sougo.

* * *

The duo had made the clearing where they first met, their special space. Sougo always took his seat on the fallen log and Tamaki would either join him on the log, or make himself comfortable on the forest floor.

Soon, it was the day before the summer festival. Sougo decided then, to tell Tamaki the whole truth. Initially, Tamaki was telling Sougo about how he had been busy the past few days because he was helping out with setting up the booths for the festival. Sougo looked on fondly, as Tamaki enthusiastically spoke about how he even befriended a few kids as he was helping build a family’s booth. Once Tamaki finished up his story, Sougo took a steady breath and braced himself.

“By the way, Tamaki-kun, have you heard of the legend of the forest spirit?” Sougo asked from his seat on the fallen log.

Tamaki, who was sitting right beside Sougo on the log, turned his head and met Sougo’s violet eyes. In the past, and even now, Tamaki wasn’t proud of his inability to read the atmosphere; sometimes what he says may have come off as insensitive. Or, he wouldn’t be able to pick up cues that people are conveying with their facial expressions. However, with Sougo, he had grown to recognize the small changes in both Sougo’s facial and body expressions. The older man held Tamaki’s gaze, but Tamaki noticed how Sougo was fidgeting with his fingers and, although he was smiling, the smile didn’t reach his eyes. The usual sparkle of joy that Tamaki almost always saw in Sougo’s eyes was dimmed, and was instead clouded over with what Tamaki roughly guessed was doubt, or even fear.

“Yeah, my aunt told me about that legend when I first moved here,” Tamaki replied. “...Are you okay Sou-chan? You look really uncomfortable.”

“I just wanted to tell you something,” Sougo continued. “I wonder if you will think anything different of me afterwards…”

“Sou-chan, you’re worrying me,” Tamaki fretted. “Is there something going on with you? Your family? Is there a problem that just popped up?”

Sougo shook his head. “About that forest spirit… Did you ever think that legend was true?”

Tamaki blinked. “I mean, you and I are always here, and we’ve never seen that spirit. I just assumed it was just a myth.”

“That’s because I am that spirit,” Sougo blurted.

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Sougo apologized, thinking Tamaki’s one-word reply was a bad sign. “You were the first person from town who actually had the courage to talk to me. You didn’t even doubt me when I was leading you out of the forest, even though I was a total stranger. I was...happy to have met someone I could talk to, someone I could spend time with.” Sougo took a breath. “So I continued to pretend to be perfectly human. I value our friendship, Tamaki-kun, and I really didn’t want to scare you away by telling you too soon.”

Tamaki opened his mouth to reply, but Sougo continued, “Remember that time you were about to give me a hug, and I stepped out of the way?” Sougo brought his hands up to his chest level and cradled his right hand in his left. “I’m a forest spirit. That means that I can’t touch humans, or let humans touch me.”

“Why not?” Tamaki asked.

“If I’m touched by a human, I’ll stop existing.”

Tamaki’s jaw dropped. “W-Wait, you’ll disappear? Is that why you get jumpy whenever I get too close?”

Sougo nodded. “Yes. That’s also why I said that I wasn’t good with crowds, and why I only stay for a little while at the bi-annual festivals, before people start filing in.” He paused for a while. “Tamaki-kun, you’re a great person, and an amazing friend. I’m glad to have met you and spent so much time together.” Sougo gripped the fabric of his yukata tightly in his fists. “S-So, if you decide that this forest spirit is a liar, and is potentially dangerous, you have all the right to cut ties with me.”

“Sou-chan, hey,” Tamaki soothingly called. His right arm hovered over Sougo’s shoulders. Tamaki had never wanted to give Sougo a hug as much as he did now. He clenched his fists and lowered his arm back to his side.  “I’m glad you told me. I don’t care that you had to hide your own identity. Telling someone that you’re not actually a human isn’t exactly an easy thing. I mean, to be honest, if you told me way earlier, like when we first met, I probably would’ve thought you were crazy or something.” That last bit earned a short, sputtering laugh from Sougo.

“Also, you, dangerous? You’re not really scary… uh, well, not in the way that ghosts are.”

“I’m not really a ghost though,” Sougo replied half-heartedly.

“I mean, to be honest, you’re quite scary in other ways,” Tamaki explained. “You get really scarily mad whenever you find out that I came to meet you without having eaten lunch. And remember that time I told you about some of the guys in my class talking behind my back and picking a fight with me just because they noticed that I come out to the forest every day? There was this super dark shadow that just crossed your face, and I swore the temperature around me dropped.”

“Ah…” Sougo acknowledged.

“All very human emotions,” Tamaki finished. He flashed a reassuring smile at Sougo. “No matter what you say you are, you’re still my friend, Sou-chan. You’re scary when you get mad, but that’s perfectly human. You have emotions just like normal humans do. I’ve seen you happy, be worried, and now, I’ve seen you be afraid.”

Tamaki was started to get more passionate. "Also, I definitely, **definitely** don’t want you to disappear! You’ve become such an important person to me. Like I’ve said before, I’m really bad with words, but Sou-chan, you’re amazing too! You have a really kind heart, and if other people gave you a chance without running away, they’d see that too! You always encourage me to do well in school, even though I’m not that great with schoolwork, and no matter what, you’ve supported me since I first moved here. Not to mention, your-- Sou-chan… wait, are you crying?”

Sougo sniffed. “Maybe,” he muttered. Sougo buried his face in his hands and chuckled through his tears. “Tamaki-kun, you can’t mention that you’re not good with words and just… say all of that.”

“I mean, I’m really not good with words,” Tamaki repeated. “But maybe it’s because it’s you, Sou-chan. Everything I wanted to say just flew out.”

“Aha, is that supposed to be a good or bad thing, I wonder,” Sougo lightly teased.

Tamaki stared as Sougo calmed himself down. “You said you can’t touch humans, right? What if there’s something between?”

Sougo sniffled and pressed the back of his hand to his nose. “You mean like clothing? That’s actually a good question. To be honest, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s just skin to skin contact.”

“Hmm, okay,” Tamaki said. “Can I try something? I’m going to be really, really, really careful. I’m nervous just trying to do this, but… do you trust me, Sou-chan?”

“Of course I do,” Sougo whispered.

Tamaki reached for his bag and pulled out his jacket. He wrapped the long sleeve of his jacket around his right hand, making sure that his whole hand was covered, and carefully dabbed at Sougo’s cheek.

“I don’t have a handkerchief or any tissues, so I just tried to experiment with this,” Tamaki explained. “It looks like as long as there’s something between us, it’s okay!”

Tamaki let his wrapped hand sit on Sougo’s cheek for a while. Sougo himself was staring, dumbfounded. Feeling a lot more comfortable with this piece of information now, Sougo relaxed his body, let his eyelids flutter closed, and pressed his nuzzled his cheek into Tamaki’s wrapped hand. Tamaki, in turn, tried to cup Sougo’s cheek as much as he could, given the fact that there’s wrapped fabric around his whole hand.

“I haven’t had contact in so long,” Sougo whispered. “Thank you for taking a chance, Tamaki-kun.”

Tamaki’s lips curved into a calm smile as he stared, affectionately, at Sougo’s relaxed form. “Thank you for trusting me, Sou-chan.”

Ever since that discovery, Sougo and Tamaki became more comfortable being physically near each other. Tamaki was even able to convince Sougo to come out to the summer festival for a short while, though afterwards, they snuck off to their special place in the forest.

Eventually, they sprinkled in more physical touch whenever they meet. Tamaki would bring gloves and, while wearing them, would get Sougo’s attention by poking his upper arm, his shoulder, or even his cheeks. Tamaki’s touches would then turn a bit more bold, such as a lingering touch after Tamaki had tucked a stray strand of hair behind Sougo’s ear. Or a hand on the small of Sougo’s back as they walked together. On top of physical touches, the duo also became more emotionally connected.

* * *

“I like you.”

Out of the blue, as Tamaki and Sougo were making small talk on the forest floor, Tamaki blurted out an abrupt confession. That of course, turned Sougo into a blushing mess.

“H-Huh? What are you saying all of a sudden, Tamaki-kun?”

Tamaki looked intensely at Sougo, as if his gaze pierced through the older man’s soul. “I like you,” he repeated.

Sougo tried to avert his gaze, still with a tint of pink dusting his cheeks. “I heard it the first time, but...why so suddenly…”

“Sou-chan, what about you?”

“Me?” Sougo squeaked. “Wait, this is really sudden…”

“I really like coming over and talking with you,” Tamaki continued. “I think you’re a great person, who can be a bit scary sometimes, but I like how you always put up with me and always listen to my complaints. I like how you always care about people, even though they may not care about you. You’re one of the most amazing people I’ve met in my life, Sou-chan, and I wanted to straight out tell it to you.”

Sougo buried his face in his hands, embarrassment taking over due to Tamaki’s wave of compliments. “I-I’m sorry, Tamaki-kun. I’m not used to this, so I apologize if I’m being quite closed off right now.”

“It’s okay, Sou-chan. Take your time. I’m not asking you to like me back right now. I just wanted to let you know how I feel because I’d rather say it straight out rather than hide it.”

“... Me not reciprocating your feelings isn’t the issue, Tamaki-kun.” Sougo slid his hands down a little, exposing his eyes so that he could peek at Tamaki. “I… It would be a lie if I said I didn’t like you.”

Tamaki perked up. “So, you like me too?”

Sougo slowly nodded. “I think I starting having these feelings for you a while ago. You’re...so special, Tamaki-kun. You refused to think badly of me, even though so many others do. You had a chance to never come back here after our first meeting, but you did. On top of that, you even brought food. You’ve become part of a life I never thought I’d be able to have.” Sougo took in a breath and exhaled.

“I… I like you too, Tamaki-kun. I like that you refuse to listen to rumors, and would rather confirm things with your own eyes. I like that, when we first met, you were so kind to a complete stranger like me. I like that during all the time we spent together, you were considerate enough to never pry about my life, and respected my boundaries.”

Tamaki crawled closer to Sougo and squished the older man’s cheeks between his gloved hands. A confused Sougo just blinked. Now Tamaki was the one sporting a blush.

“Um…” Tamaki started. “I know that I confessed really out of the blue, but I’m super glad to hear that you like me too! S-So, I was wondering if it’ll be okay to… try to just… kiss?”

Sougo wheezed and coughed a couple of times, clearly not expecting to be surprised another time. “O-Our lips can’t touch or else--”

Tamaki lightly placed his gloved hand on top of Sougo’s lips, hushing him. “I just wanted to try this…”

Tamaki leaned in, with his hand still on Sougo’s lips. Sougo’s eyelids slowly fluttered closed, giving Tamaki free reign. The younger man pressed his lips on the back of his hand, right over where Sougo’s lips were. After a few seconds, Tamaki pulled back and took his hand off of Sougo’s mouth. The duo gazed into each other’s eyes for a few moments before bursting into chuckles.

After a while, Sougo cleared his throat. “I guess that works.”

* * *

After their first confession, Tamaki and Sougo became closer than ever. With Tamaki fully gloved the two of them would hold hands, and share small, extremely careful hugs. During hugs, of course, both of them would make sure that none of their exposed skin touched. Time passed in the blink of an eye and soon, it was time for the winter festival. Once again, Tamaki was able to convince Sougo to go with him. Since the spirit informed Tamaki before, that he would rather not have people see his face, Tamaki bundled up in winter clothes, arrived at the forest at around noon, with a kitsune mask in hand.

“For you, Sou-chan,” Tamaki offered, as he held out the mask to Sougo, who took it with a small ‘thank you’. Being a spirit, Sougo didn’t feel the sting of the winter wind. However, since he was going out in public, Tamaki brought a bag of winter clothes for Sougo to change into. Once the older man finished putting on Tamaki’s winter coat, that was just a bit too big for him, he brought the mask over his face; a perfect fit. Tamaki, with gloves on like usual, extended his hand, as if expecting Sougo to grab on. Sougo looked straight at Tamaki, and with a hidden smile, also stretched his hand out and took a hold of Tamaki’s fingers. The two of them adjusted their hold so that their fingers were intertwined.

With a small blush and an unsuppressable grin, Tamaki led the way. “This feels like a date,” Tamaki confessed.

Behind the mask, Sougo also sported a blush, complete with a stupidly happy expression. “I-It does,” he agreed.

An idea suddenly flashed across Tamaki’s mind. He fished out his phone from the pocket of his winter coat and pulled Sougo closer. “If you don’t mind, let’s take a picture together,” Tamaki suggested. Sougo nodded in agreement. He laid his head on Tamaki’s shoulder, being extremely careful to not touch Tamaki’s chin or the side of his face. Tamaki brought his phone up at an angle and snapped a few selfies. Afterwards, the two of them looked at the pictures, satisfied with how they turned out.

“Since you don’t have a phone, Sou-chan, I can ask oba-san if there’s a place that prints out photos, and I can give a copy to you.”

“Thank you,” Sougo said as he placed his forehead on Tamaki’s shoulder. “You’re very sweet, Tamaki-kun.”

They held onto each other’s hands tighter.  

* * *

Once the duo arrived at the festival, multiple people came up to Tamaki to ask who the mystery person was, and both him and Sougo tried to answer their questions as politely as possible. Sougo was thrilled that he was able to talk with people normally, and overall, spend his time at the festival like a normal person. They went from stall to stall, trying their hand at the games and eating piping hot, delicious food. By the time the sun started to set, they had almost exhausted all the stalls, and thus, decided that they would return to the forest to spend the rest of the day together.

“Thank you for bringing me to the festival, Tamaki-kun,” Sougo thanked, pushing his mask to the side of his head, as the two of them walked along the street. The evening sky was painted in an orange hue as the sun started to set. Despite being winter, it was lucky for everyone in the area that they were able to hold the festival on a sunny winter day instead of a chilly, snowy one. The two of them enjoyed the scenery and comfortable silence, but the moment got interrupted when a child dashed past them.

“Don’t run, Yuuta! It’s dangerous!” The boy’s mother, who was a couple of feet behind the duo yelled as she tried to catch up to her son.

Like the mother said, it was slippery around the area, and the boy was running right near the edge of the slope. Sougo started running forward, anticipating what was coming next.

“Watch out!”

His warning fell on deaf ears as the child kept running and tripped. Before the young boy could tumble off of the slope, Sougo rushed forward and grabbed the child’s wrist, pulling him back to safely. Sougo fell on his butt while the child fell on him. The child’s mother, who was a couple of feet away, ran towards Sougo and picked her child up, thanking him profusely for saving him. Sougo merely shook his head and said he was happy the boy was safe.

Once the boy and his mother were out of sight, Sougo turned back to Tamaki, who stood frozen, at the same spot they were at before Sougo started running. Sougo was about to ask Tamaki what was wrong when he noticed, from the corner of his eye, an ball of light.

Tamaki could only stare in shock as small orbs of light started floating out from the tips of Sougo’s fingers, where he had grabbed on to the careless child to prevent him from slipping down the slope, right into the freezing river.

“Sou-chan…”

Sougo brought his hand up to his face and observed the light flying away, as if it was the most fascinating thing in the vicinity. He then turned his gaze over to a wide eyed Tamaki, whose expression reflected fear and confusion.

Sougo forced a small, painful smile. He opened up his arms, beckoning Tamaki to come to him. “Tamaki-kun!”

At the speed of light, Tamaki rushed forward and enveloped Sougo in a tight, heartbreaking hug. He buried his face into Sougo’s soft hair while Sougo pressed himself into Tamaki’s chest.

The light emanating from Sougo was now not only limited to his hands, but also to other exposed parts of his body. The two of them pulled away slightly, only to lean in to press their lips together in a frantic kiss. Sougo brought his arms up to the back of Tamaki’s neck and ran his fingers through Tamaki’s slightly long, unkempt hair. Tamaki, in turn, brought Sougo flush against his torso by circling his arms around his waist and pulling him in. They exchanged multiple kisses, each time more passionate than the next, as many as as they possibly could before running out of time.

“I’m sorry, Sou-chan,” Tamaki murmured in between kisses. “I’m so stupid. I should have brought a pair of gloves for you too. I should’ve thought of this!”

“It’s not your fault, Tamaki-kun,” Sougo reassured, as he pulled away. With both hands, he cupped Tamaki’s cheeks and pressed one last kiss on his lips. “It was my decision to save the boy. It was an impulse, but I’m glad I was able to save a life and spare the mother from having to deal with the loss of a child.”

“You’re going to disappear…”

Sougo rubbed his thumbs over the corner of Tamaki’s eyes, catching his tears. Of course, he had his own tears running down his cheeks too. “I’m sorry… I wish had more time together.” The light was starting to become blindingly bright. “I’m very glad I met you Tamaki-kun. If it wasn’t for you, my life would have stayed stagnant, with no chance of ever interacting with others like a normal person. When I’m with you, I feel like I’m human, not just an entity that others shun. Thank you for coming into my life, Tamaki-kun.”

Tamaki leaned in to quickly press his lips to the corners of Sougo’s eyes. “You have no idea how much I love our time together. I’m super happy I went to the forest. I’m super happy you talked to me and we became friends.”

“I’m so happy I was able to spend this festival with you,” Sougo continued. “I love being with you too, Tamaki-kun. It may be too rushed, or too forward of me, but I love you.”

“Dummy,” Tamaki endearingly teased. “I love you too. I was the one who said I liked you first.”

“But I went one step further,” Sougo lightly rebutted. He held on to Tamaki tighter as he felt himself being pulled away by the light. “It looks like it’s time.”

“No…” Tamaki whispered, choked up by his own tears. He tightened his hug on Sougo as well, frantically trying to get him to stay.

Through a stream of tears, Sougo flashed the most positive smile he could muster. Both of them held on to each other until the last second. Tamaki felt Sougo’s body slipping from his grip, and the next thing Tamaki knew, he had slumped down on the ground, only clutching Sougo’s yukata and the winter coat Tamaki had given him. The kitsune mask fell right in front of Tamaki with a clunk. Tamaki slouched forward, burying his face in Sougo’s clothes, and sobbed his heart out, letting his tears flow freely with his frustrated yells muffled.

* * *

“Have you heard about the legend?”

“You mean about the forest spirit? Wasn’t that some years ago?”

Tamaki’s ears perked up at the mention of the legend. A couple of middle school students walking behind him were sharing the story of the forest spirit who had taken a hold of his heart a few years ago.

“Yep! I remember my mom saying that the forest spirit was evil or something, but it turns out that he was just...living his own life, y’know?”

“Ooo, I heard that one of the older teenagers from the village befriended the spirit, and that’s how the legend changed!”

“That’s what I heard too! That person must have been really brave to approach the spirit. If it were me, I’d have chickened out!”

“Right? A few years ago, all we heard about the forest spirit was that he was dangerous. I’m glad he did though. Thanks to him, the whole village knows that the spirit’s just living in peace, and everyone can go visit the forest with no worries!”

“Yep! I love walking around the forest in the morning. It’s always so beautiful there.”

“We should go there for a picnic on Saturday morning!”

“I’m up for it!”

A small grin tugged at the corners of Tamaki’s lips. He brought out his phone from his pants pocket, unwinded the earphones wrapped around his phone, placed the earphones in his ears, and started walking a little bit faster as music started playing.

“Sou-chan,” Tamaki whispered, gazing lovingly at his phone’s home screen. The selfie he took together with Sougo right before going to the winter festival stared back at him. “The people here have a totally different opinion of you now. A lot of them love the forest too. I just wish you were here to see this.” Tamaki swiped his thumb across the screen where Sougo’s peacefully smiling face was reflected. “I miss you, Sou-chan. I hope you’re doing well, wherever you are. As for me, I’m pretty good. I graduated high school and now I’m helping oba-san and oji-san out with their business. I also applied to work at an agency in the city. It’s called "Takanashi Productions", and their pay sounds really nice. Hopefully I’ll be able to get an interview. Right now, I'm happy and I hope you are too. Who knows? Maybe one day, maybe in another life, we’ll meet again.”

Tamaki looked up, admiring the clear blue summer sky. _“And when we meet another time, I’ll definitely love you again, a thousand times more.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I swear I love MEZZO” to death and don’t want them to suffer, but I also love angst ;w; I’m SO SORRY MY BOYS ILY 
> 
> Also, for a lot of the time while writing this fic, I was listening to the “Goblin” soundtrack and omg, it was a ride ;-; I hope I was able to deliver a bittersweet TamaSou “Hotarubi no Mori e” AU fic, and that you guys enjoyed it! This fic took me so long to write (rip motivation and classes) but I’m glad I was able to find the drive to finish it! TamaSou gives me so much life and I love MEZZO” to death. I did have one more TamaSou idea I wanted to write, but it’s not completely fleshed out, sooo once I have the plot in my head, please keep a look out for the fic! ^_^
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this fic! Please feel free to leave me a comment! I love, love, love reading everyone’s comments! Come scream with me about MEZZO" at [my twitter!](https://twitter.com/bunnymikaaa)


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